Britain's Labour highly likely to back bid to prevent no-deal Brexit: McDonnell

Britain's opposition Labour Party is highly likely to back an amendment by lawmaker Yvette Cooper that could prevent a no-deal Brexit, the second most powerful man in the party said. The Cooper amendment makes time for a piece of legislation Cooper has proposed, which gives May until Feb. 26 to get a deal approved by parliament.

If the government fails to get a deal through by that date, parliament would be given a vote on asking the EU for a postponement of the Article 50 deadline to prevent Britain leaving without a deal on March 29. The proposal is for a nine-month extension, to Dec. 31. "Yvette Cooper has put an amendment down which I think is sensible," the Labour Party's finance policy chief, John McDonnell, told the BBC. When asked whether Labour would back the amendment, he said: "Highly likely."